Of Angels and Demons
by KatNH
Summary: A boy named Carter gets kidnapped by a demon and Sam & Dean come to his rescue. The question is, what do the demons want with Carter? Communication is key when Sam and Dean find out the young boy is deaf. This isn't AU, but this story doesn't follow the series events. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic that I've published. Here is the first chapter. I'm working very hard on it and appreciate you being here to see the work. I'm working on the sign language best I can, I am still learning. Thanks and enjoy! I'll post an update when I can!**

It was hard to bring himself out of the darkness that enveloped his mind. The last thing he remembered was his father being stabbed and that crazy black-eyed man

running after him. Opening his eyes, Carter blinked away the fuzz and tried to concentrate on the scene around him. His hands were tied behind his back to the chair he

was sitting on. There were big boys in the same position across from him. One had short, dirty blonde/brown hair that was spiked up in front and the other had long,

dark brown hair. Between himself and the two big boys, was that same black-eyed man who had stabbed his dad.

The short-haired man was talking to the evil man.

 _He's innocent! He doesn't matter to you!_

The evil man turned toward Carter, and his black eyes gleamed with sinister happiness that Carter was now awake.

 _Look at you!_ The man knelt down so he was eye-level with Carter, who screwed his face into a mean grimace. _So scary!_ The man barked with laughter. _Now, D here is_

 _supposed to be choosing whether I kill you or his brother. Which do you think he'll choose?_

 ****SPN****

Dean was infuriated by what this demon was telling the child sitting across from them. That fury alone was probably what made him able to finally get the knot loosened

to free his hands. He quietly made his way to Sam, slipping a hand into his jacket to remove the hidden Demon Knife. The demon was still chatting, although one-sided,

with the small boy.

"You are such a precious thing, you know? It'd be my lucky day to kill Sam Winchester, but I'll have just as much fun—" The knife cut the sentence off as the demon

died. Dean quickly un-tied the boy, who stared at him in surprise and worry while he worked at the knots. After he got them undone, he knelt in front of the boy.

"Hey, kid, no worries! It's gonna be okay. We're here to help. What's your name?"

The little boy made a "C" with his hand and then took his index finger to his chin and pulled it down.

Dean stared at the boy, perplexed. Sam was now kneeling next him, looking just as confused. The boy made the "C" again, closed his fist with his thumb sticking out,

crossed his index and second finger, put his thumb in-between his first and second finger in a fist, set his thumb under his four fingers and then crossed his index and

second finger again.

"Dean, that's sign language!" Sam exclaimed.

"So, he's deaf?" Dean asked.

The boy was nodding.

"So, I think he must be able to read lips. I think he signed his name for you."

The boy nodded again, and made the letters again with his hand. After, he made the "C" and took his index finger to his chin and pulled it down like he had before.

"Sam?"

"No, Dean, I can do a lot, but I have no clue what he's signing. I know 'thank-you' and 'sorry.' That's it."

Sam took his hand and placed a fist on his chest, moving it in a counter-clockwise direction. "Sorry. We'll figure it out, okay? Do you know your address?"

The boy shrugged.

"Where's your mom and dad?" Sam tried.

The boy placed one hand palm up, the other palm down next to it in mid-air and then flipped both over. His eyes filled with tears that quickly began falling.

Dean pulled the boy into a hug and stood up, picking the boy up with him.

Sam stood as well.

"Well, I don't need to know sign language to figure out that demon probably killed his parents." Dean said gruffly. "Let's get out of here."

"What are we going to do—"

"I dunno, Sammy. We're taking him with us for right now, he's gonna need protection. I don't think that demon just chose a kid randomly."

"Let's see if the library is open. It's only five." Sam said, as they began walking from the abandoned building, Dean still carrying the crying child. "Better yet, I think we

passed a school for the deaf in Iowa. After the library, maybe we should take him there? No one will know him and they'll be able to translate for us."

"What's gonna be at the library?" Dean asked, placing the child in the backseat of the car. He was asleep now. Dean took his jacket off and put it on the boy's sleeping

form, then got into the driver's seat. Sam dropped down into the passenger's seat.

"Books on ASL."

"Right. Iowa is about fifteen hours from here."

Sam went into the library, Dean stayed in the car in case the boy woke up. He had no idea what they were going to do. He wished the kid out of this whole situation.

The rustling brought Dean out of his thoughts and he turned towards the back seat. The red-haired boy stared back at him, and Dean got an idea.

Dean got out of the car, beckoning the boy to follow. Dean picked the boy up and placed him on the trunk to sit. Out of his pocket he took his dad's old leather-bound

journal and opened it to a blank page.

"Can you write?" Dean asked, hopefully.

The boy nodded. Relief flowed through Dean.

"What's your name?" He asked.

In a child's hand, he wrote. _C-A-R-T-E-R_. Then signed the letters of his name to Dean. Dean clumsily signed it back to Carter. Carter then pointed at Dean questioningly

and tapped the paper. _D-E-A-N_ , he wrote.

Carter then made a "D" with his hand, set his thumb under his four fingers, closed his fist with his thumb sticking out, and then put his thumb underneath and stuck it

out between the second and third fingers.

"Is that how to sign my name?" Dean asked.

Carter nodded. With Carter's help, Dean learned his own name, quickly.

"Sam's my brother," Dean said. "He's in the library."

The boy tapped the paper. _S-A-M,_ Dean wrote. Carter made a fist, then stuck his thumb out, and then stuck his thumb under his four fingers, sticking it out between

the third finger and the pinky. He then placed an open hand on Dean's chest, but then he made what looked like an "L" shape with both hands. One he took to his

forehead and brought it down to meet the other hand.

The boy made the motion again, and then signed " _S-A-M_ " again. He took the pen and wrote " _brother_ ," before making the entire motion again.

Dean mimicked the name and motion, but the boy shook his head, he took the hand Dean had pointed at him and moved it so it was against Dean's chest. He motioned

his open palm at Dean and made the "brother" motion again. It clicked. Sam was his brother, not Carter's.

The red-haired boy was smiling up at Dean. Dean looked up and saw Sam heading back their way with a couple books under his arm.

"His name is Carter." Dean said, as Sam got closer.

"How d'you figure?" Sam asked.

"He's old enough to write a bit. Mine's this," Dean said, and signed his own name.

Sam laughed. "Well, I got a couple books to help us out, just in case. I guess we should get on the road to Iowa?"

"Yeah," Dean turned back to Carter, who was looking a bit confused. "We're gonna go on a little road trip. We're gonna protect you, okay? Those demons aren't getting

their hands on you."

Carter put his thumbs up to his temples and flapped his fingers, surprise and worry etched on his face. He then placed his index finger on his lips and moved it forward.

Carter then took his index finger across his forehead and pointed to his eyes.

"Sam?" Dean asked, looking at his brother.

Sam shook his head and shrugged. "No idea. I'm gonna need a minute to read the books, Dean."

Carter seemed to give up on the sentence he'd just signed, and tugged at Dean's shirt. Dean looked back toward Carter as he touched his thumb to the tips of his

fingers and put it to his mouth.

"Don't need the book for that one," Dean said.

"Nope. Food," Sam said.

"I agree. Let's get some food," Dean said. Carter smiled and held his arms out for Dean to pick him up. Dean obliged and put him back into the car, buckling him in this

time. Sam buried his face in one of the sign language books, reading with the late evening sun, and about a half hour later, they came upon a small diner along the side

of the highway. Dean parked and the trio went into the diner. The hostess sat them down at a table and asked what they'd like to drink.

"Just water," Dean and Sam said simultaneously.

"And you, sweetie?" She asked, looking at Carter.

He put three fingers up and tapped his mouth with them.

"I think that he wants water," Sam said, questioningly.

Carter nodded at Sam. The waitress put down two regular menus and a kid's menu before walking away from the table to get their drinks. Dean handed the kid's menu

to Carter and looked down at his own menu. After a few minutes, Dean felt eyes on him and looked up to meet Carter's eyes. He tapped the menu and then tapped

Dean's arm. Dean looked down at the menu and read the items off for Carter.

"Uh, hamburger or cheeseburger, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, or chicken nuggets?" Dean asked.

Carter shook his head and tapped the paper again. Dean looked down and saw that Carter was tapping a tic-tac-toe game where he had made an "X" in the center with

a green crayon. Dean smiled at him before grabbing the blue crayon and making an "O" next to Carter's "X." Sam watched the game, until Carter had three "X's" in a

row and made a line through them, smiling up at both of them. Sam held up his hand, and Carter obliged him by slapping it, beaming.

The waitress came back with three waters.

"That's so cute," she said. "Is he yours?" she asked, looking between Sam and Dean.

"Uh—Well, er, yeah. He is." Sam stuttered out, glancing at Dean.

"Has he been deaf since birth?" She asked.

"Y-Yes. He has," Dean answered this question, biting the end off tersely.

"Well, are you ready to order?" She asked, changing the subject.

"You know what you want?" Dean asked Carter.

Carter nodded and pointed at "grilled cheese."

Sam ordered his usual salad and Dean his usual cheeseburger.

Once the waitress left, Dean and Sam sighed, relieved that the questioning had stopped. Sam looked at Carter, who stared back questioningly. He pointed at himself,

made a fist and stuck his thumb and pinky out and pushed his hand forward. He then motioned to Sam and Dean. Dean looked to Sam, who had one of the books open

on the table.

"Stay. I stay you," Sam said. "He's asking if he's supposed to be staying with us now."

"For now, yes," Dean said to Carter.

The waitress dropped the food by, "Enjoy!" and made her way back to another table to take their order.

 ****SPN****

Carter stared at his plate as he shoveled it into his mouth. His dad had made grilled cheese for him all the time. He remembered sitting at the island in the kitchen,

eating while his dad signed stories of when he was a kid and of stories about his mom. She had died when he was born, and he had been born deaf. Yet, his dad

had taught him as he'd grown. He remembered the rumble of his dad's chest as he spoke and sang lullabies to help him sleep. Even though

he couldn't particularly hear the words, the rumble of his dad's chest helped lull him to sleep.

Finishing up the last bite, he stared down at the empty plate, sadness filling him. His mom and dad were both dead, and here he was sitting at a table with two strange

men who talked about demons being real. Carter wondered if angels existed, too. His dad had always told him angels were watching over him, which he'd always

thought would have been odd. Were they watching while he went to the bathroom? Why had they been watching? Dad had said they were watching him to protect

him, so they must have stopped watching, or they'd have protected him from that black eyed man, right? Dean saved him though, so maybe Dean was an angel. Carter

looked up at Dean and Sam. They were just finishing up their food. Carter tapped Dean on his arm, and waited until he looked up. When he had, Carter motioned toward

him with his index finger and then touched both hands to his shoulders and raised them up, with a questioning look on his face. _Are you an angel?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go, second chapter. Again, thank you for reading this story! Much love, all. Nothing super big happening in this chapter. It's mostly adorable fluff cause I love Dean as a Father Figure. There is a plot to this story, we just haven't hit it yet. We will in the next couple chapters! Thanks to the reviewer who pointed out my ridiculous mistake in the previous chapter, it's been fixed. Other than that, enjoy! And thank you to those who do review!**

 _RECAP_

Carter tapped Dean on his arm, and waited until he looked up. When he had, Carter motioned toward him with his index finger and then touched both hands to his

shoulders and raised them up, with a questioning look on his face. _Are you an angel?_

 ****SPN****

Dean looked over at Sam. Sam looked from Dean to Carter, uncertainty written on his face.

"Can you spell it out?" Sam asked.

Carter sighed. He took his hand and made a fist with his thumb sticking out.

"That's an 'A'," Sam said.

Carter put his thumb underneath the first two fingers and stuck it out between the second and third fingers.

" 'N'," Dean said. "That's in my name."

Carter held his fist up like when you make a 'rock' to play 'rock-paper-scissors' and pointed the index finger and thumb straight out.

"Uh.. Let's see, 'G'," Sam said, looking in the book.

Carter made a loose fist and placed his thumb under the four fingers.

" 'E'" Dean said, glancing at Sam's book for reassurance.

Carter held his finger and thumb in an 'L.'

"That's easy," Dean said.

"Angel," Sam stated.

Carter pointed at Dean, questioningly, raised his hands to his shoulder, and raised them up as he'd done before. Then he signed _A-N-G-E-L_ again. Dean couldn't help but

laugh, and Sam chuckled. Carter cocked his head to the side questioning the men's laughter.

"I'm no angel, kiddo," Dean said. "Let's get out of here."

Dean and Sam got up, making their way to the front of the diner. Dean felt the boy grab onto his left hand, he stopped and looked down. Carter met his eyes and smiled

slightly. Dean shrugged and continued after Sam, who had just paid the bill.

"Is there a motel close by?" Sam asked the girl at the counter, as Dean and Carter joined him.

"Uh. Yeah! About two miles down the highway maybe? It's on the left, can't miss it," she replied.

"Thanks," Sam said, and turned toward the door.

"First thing tomorrow, we're going to have to stop and get Carter some clothes and stuff," Dean said in a low voice as they walked to the Impala, it was completely dark

now, nearing almost eight-thirty.

"Yeah," Sam said, "and how do you propose we sleep tonight? Put him on a makeshift bed on the floor?"

Dean opened the backseat door, so Carter could climb in.

After they'd all gotten in and Dean got back to the highway, Dean replied.

"No. We can share, or I'll sleep on the floor. Kid's had a rough enough day as is."

Dean swung the Impala into the parking lot and waited while Sam got them a room at the office. Glancing to the backseat, he saw Carter staring out the window, he

looked lost in his own thoughts. Dean thought about not being able to hear anything, how dangerous it could be for a hunter. Dean thought about the silence. Even

now, sitting in the Impala with the engine shut off, there was static noise. Wind, a loud television set, even the ticking of his watch. Imagining having to sit in total and

complete silence, that unnerved Dean. A knock on the driver's side window startled him out of the thought of silence.

"C'mon," Sam's muffled voice said.

Sam went to the trunk and waited for Dean to unlock it to grab their duffels. Sam went to the passenger side and opened up Carter's door and then the three made

their way to a door not too far away. Once inside, Dean immediately went into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Carter standing by the door to the room and

Sam rolling his eyes, sitting down in a chair at the small table.

 ****SPN****

Carter just stood near the door, unsure of what he should do. Dean was in the bathroom and Sam was reading the sign language book he'd gotten from the library. Sam

looked up at him and smiled lightly.

 _Come here_ Sam said. _We should get you in bed, you think?_

Carter walked over to Sam, who was now digging around in his bag. He pulled out a purple t-shirt and handed it to Carter, who looked from the shirt to Sam with

confusion on his face.

 _Put that on to wear to bed, so you can put those clothes back on in the morning_ , Sam said. _We'll stop and get you some clothes tomorrow_.

Carter furrowed his brow and shook his head. _No._ No he would not wear an over-large purple t-shirt to bed. The last time he'd worn a purple shirt, he'd dreamed of

clowns on motorcycles and dress-wearing bananas. _No, he would not!_ Carter tried to hand the shirt back to Sam, who huffed and rolled his eyes.

 _Don't be difficult...Please?_ Sam sighed.

Still Carter shook his head and held the shirt to Sam at arm's length. Sam looked up and away from Carter, so he turned and saw Dean leaning against the door frame of

the bathroom. Carter discarded the shirt to the floor and went over to where Dean stood, towel wrapped around his waist.

 _What's the problem, kiddo?_

 _I won't wear purple!_ He signed angrily, pointing at the shirt on the floor. _Won't!_

Dean looked from Carter to Sam, who shrugged.

 _I just tried to give him a shirt for bed,_ Sam said. Dean looked back down at Carter.

 _I hate purple! Purple brings bad dreams! Clowns, motorcycles and bananas in dresses! No! No! No!_ Carter signed viciously, to show his outrage at the offensive clothing

item.

 _Woah, woah, slow down. I've no idea what you're trying to tell me._ Dean said, grabbing Carter's shoulders.

Carter smacked at Dean's arms, throwing himself off balance and fell backward to the floor in frustration. Angry tears welled in his eyes as he had no idea what to do or

how to communicate. Dad would never ever have handed him anything that even resembled purple, because he understood. Dad would know what to do. Carter could

convey his feelings to his dad with ease. _These two have no idea!_ The exhaustion, anger, sadness, and frustration all bubbled over as tears fell down his cheeks. He was

helpless to stop it. A few minutes went by and Dean appeared above him, dressed now. The tears made Dean's concerned face warble above him and he liked how the

green of Dean's shirt mixed with the white of the ceiling. Suddenly, Dean was hauling Carter up off of the floor and carrying him to the bed nearest the door. Setting him

down on the side of the bed, Carter watched how the tears made Dean's green duffle seem to float above the multi-colored duvet. The next time he blinked, he realized

the tears were gone and Dean was trying to get his attention.

 _What about these?_ Dean asked. He was holding a grey t-shirt and a black t-shirt with some sort of design.

Maybe Dean did understand. He hadn't understood exactly what Carter had tried to tell him, but he understood enough. Carter reached out and took the grey shirt

tentatively from Dean. Carter hopped off the bed and walked to the bathroom. When he came out, swimming in the large grey t-shirt, Dean was hovering over Sam's

shoulder at the table. Carter walked over to Dean and tugged at the hem of his shirt. Dean turned and looked down at Carter who raised his arms up in the universal

"pick-me-up" position. Dean did so and Carter immediately wrapped his arms around Dean's neck, laying his head down on Dean's shoulder. Dean was talking to Sam,

and Carter could feel the vibrations. He could almost pretend it was his dad, and not Dean.

 ****SPN****

"Jesus, Sam, what the hell did you do?" Dean asked, as Carter walked slowly to the bathroom with the grey shirt.

"I told you, Dean, I just offered him the shirt to sleep in and he just started doing that," Sam said, angrily. "It's not my fault."

"He must really hate purple, then, 'cause I gave him the same type of shirt," Dean said, heading over to where Sam was sitting at the table. Dean picked the purple

shirt up off the floor and shoved it back in Sam's bag. "Hey, what's the sign for 'clown'?"

"It's this," Sam said after flipping through the book. He indicated a picture of a lady with her hand near her nose.

"Oh, okay, cause they have a huge nose!"

"Why..?" Sam asked.

"Good guess. That was one of the motions he made to me when he was freaking out. What about banana?"

Sam flipped through the book again, to the food section.

"He made that sign, too," Dean said. "Not sure what all the others were though. Those are just the two I could take a good guess on."

Dean felt a tug on the back of his shirt, so he turned and looked down to meet Carter's pleading eyes. He stretched his arms up at Dean, large chocolate eyes pleading

hopefully, so Dean picked him up. He definitely had a soft spot for this kid, and it only grew when Carter wrapped his arms around his neck and settled in.

"What?" He snapped at Sam, who was shaking his head and grinning.

"You're just," Sam gestured at Dean, "like, father material."

"What? No, I'm not."

"He likes you a lot more than he likes me."

"Well, I interacted with him a bit more than you, and I'm not the one who handed him a damn purple shirt."

"Yeah. Sure. What does the color purple have to do with clowns and bananas?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sammy." Dean went over to his bag and pulled out a half bottle of Jack Daniels with his free hand. He then tossed it over to Sam. "You

mind?"

Sam poured them both drinks and handed Dean one. Sam went about putting a salt line on the window sill and across the door. Dean went over to the bed nearest the

bathroom and pulled the covers back. Sam helped him yank the duvet completely off the bed to lay in-between the two double beds. Then Dean ever so carefully laid

Carter down on the bed and pulled the covers around him. Dean then went to get another drink and Sam pulled his shirt off and got in the bed near the door.

"We have a long day tomorrow, Dean. Get some sort of sleep," Sam said.

"Yeah," Dean grunted back, and drank down another shot.

...

Dean woke suddenly, not sure what had snapped him awake. A weight on his arm brought his attention down next to him. There was Carter, curled up under the duvet,

head on Dean's arm. In his sleep, Carter shifted closer to Dean and threw his arm out onto Dean's stomach. Dean thought about getting up and putting Carter back in

bed, but decided against it. Instead, he shifted, as much as he could without disturbing the sleeping boy, and went back to sleep himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three! I promise we will hit the plot in this chapter, once our boys get to Iowa. This chapter is way longer because the car scene ended up way longer than I originally thought it would, and because I added some more fluff. I hope you like this story as much as I do! Reviews are nice. I guess I should add in a disclaimer, since I forgot to in the last two chapters. I don't own Supernatural, Sam Winchester or Dean Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up. I do, though, own Carter. Happy reading!**

When they'd gotten to the store the next morning, Dean and Carter picked out a couple pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, and a hoodie, though they stayed clear of anything

purple. Sam went and got him a toothbrush and some fruit snacks to eat on the road, as well as some other snacks and items they needed. As the three headed toward

the register, Dean stopped and Carter stopped too, since he was holding on to Dean's hand.

"What?" Sam said, turning to his brother.

"I just thought—We should probably get him something to do in the car. It's a long drive," Dean said.

Sam nodded, "You're right."

Carter glanced from Sam to Dean, as he couldn't see their faces enough to read their lips. Dean turned them around and headed back to the kid's section.

"Do you like to draw and color?" Dean asked, looking down at Carter.

He nodded.

...

Once they were on the road to Iowa, it was nearly eleven a.m. and they were barely forty-five minutes into a fifteen hour long drive. Dean sighed.

"What?" Sam said, looking over.

"Never realized how much longer it takes kids to get ready and out the door," Dean stated.

"Well, most kids didn't grow up on the road like we did, and have to 'be on the road in ten minutes,' y'know?" Sam replied.

"Mhm. If we'd gotten out at our usual time, we'd probably be able to make the drive in one day."

"True," Sam said, glancing to the back seat to make sure Carter was still coloring. "Dean, what do you think the demons want with him? And why haven't they come

looking for him yet? Don't you think it's odd no one has even tried to get him yet?"

"I have no clue. That's what we're hoping to find out in Iowa, right? Maybe his dad made some sort of demon deal?"

"How would Carter know anything about that?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, Sam! I don't know if he knows anything or not, I just hope he does so that we can help him!"

"Right, yeah, Dean, I understand. I do. But what are we going to do with him after we've figured it out? Dump him in an orphanage? 'Sorry, kid, you're on your own'?"

Dean glared at Sam for so long, Sam was scared he'd crash the Impala.

"Dean, I'm just trying to be practical here—"

"I know, Sam," Dean said, stiffly, turning his attention back to the road.

"I mean, look-"

"Sam, I don't know! We'll figure something out, eventually," Dean cut him off and turned the radio up to cut off any more of Sam's questions and protests.

The song Bad Moon Rising blared through the car.

 ****SPN****

Carter laid across the back seat of the Impala, behind Dean, facing the passenger side of the car. He picked up a red crayon and began shading in the dinosaur's skin. He

liked to color, and to draw, because he could do whatever he wanted with it, at least that's what Dad had always told him. He remembered just a few days ago, coloring

with Lisa, his babysitter. Lisa had helped him learn to read lips to communicate. She had told him many times that _No, Carter, grass can't be pink, it's green._ But when

he'd shown the picture to his dad later that night, his dad beamed at him and signed _Wow! What do you think the world would be like if the grass were pink?_ Carter had

replied _I think it would be happier, because pink is a bright and happy color._ His dad had come back with _What made the grass pink instead of green?_ Carter had had to

think for a minute on that. _It was the bubblegum seeds!_ Carter remembered the way his dad had thrown his head back with laughter.

Carter looked back at the picture. He'd finished coloring the dinosaur and shaded the sky blue, and the sun yellow, but he stared down at the grass in the picture, not

sure what to do. He looked up, reached out and touched Sam's arm which was resting on the console. He started at the sudden touch, and then turned to face Carter.

 _Can I color the grass pink?_

 _Hold on._ Sam said, pulling the sign language book from beneath his seat. _Okay, what's this mean?_ Sam asked, repeating the combined color-write sign back to Carter.

 _C-O-L-O-R_ , Carter signed, and then performed the color-write sign.

 _Okay, 'color', what's the next word?_ Sam looked down to the book for a few seconds, flipped to another page and then looked back at Carter.

 _G-R-A-S-S_ He signed, and moved an open hand near his chin to show Sam the right sign.

 _Grass. Got it. Last word?_

 _P-I-N-K._ Carter made a 'K' hand and brushed the middle finger over his lips to show Sam the right sign.

 _Can you color the grass pink? Is that what you're asking me?_

Carter nodded. _Can I?_

 _Course you can. You can color however you want. I don't care._

Carter looked down at his dinosaur picture and smiled, then looked back up at Sam.

 _Hey_ , Sam made the sign motion, flapping an open hand, palm-down. Sam looked back down at his book. _Sorry I gave purple you before,_ he signed.

He'd done fairly well in Carter's opinion, for a first try.

 _Apology life?_ Sam tried to sign.

Carter made a confused face at him. _What?_ He signed, but quickly realized. Waving his hand at Sam to get his attention away from the book, Carter signed back.

 _The sign is accept. No life. Accept._

 _Apology accepted?_ Sam signed back, making the 'sorry' motion on his chest and then made the motion of grabbing something with both hands and pulling it to his

chest.

 _Yes!_ Carter smiled widely, nodded and made the sign for 'yes' as well. _Good job!_

 _Thank you!_ Sam signed, smiling.

Carter turned back to the dinosaur picture and shaded the grass pink. He turned to the next page, which both sides were blank. That meant he could draw anything he

wanted to. He grabbed the black crayon and got to work.

 ****SPN****

"Dean, we should probably stop for the night," Sam sighed. They still had almost seven hours before they got to Council Bluffs, where Sam had seen the school. Carter

was already asleep in the back and Dean looked exhausted from driving all day after having slept on the floor.

Dean grunted in response, but pulled into the next motel he saw.

"You get Carter, and I'll go get us a room," Dean whispered.

"No, Dean—I'll wake him up!" Sam hissed.

"Just do it!" Dean whispered back harshly, but then he started to laugh.

"What?" Sam huffed.

"We're whispering," Dean chuckled.

"Yeah?"

"He can't hear us anyway," Dean shook his head and got out of the car to head toward the office.

Sam smirked, realizing. He got out as well and opened the back door. Sam took a breath, hoping silently that he wouldn't wake Carter. It was hard to maneuver himself

and Carter back out of the car, and Sam ended up hitting his own head on the door. In the end, Sam had successfully gotten Carter into his arms, onto his hip and out of

the car without waking him up. Carter shifted slightly on Sam's shoulder, the coloring book falling from his hand to smack on the pavement. Sam bent his knees and

picked it up with his free hand.

Once they'd gotten Carter settled in the bed, Sam and Dean sat at the small table in the room and poured themselves a drink from a new bottle of Jack Daniels. They

were quiet for the first couple of drinks, Sam flipping back and forth through the sign language book, and Dean looking at the coloring book they'd gotten Carter.

"Least he's not whiny in the car," Dean stated.

"Mhm," Sam replied. "He rides pretty well."

"That was pretty cute with the pink grass," Dean smiled, stopping at that picture.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Sam nodded, still immersed in flipping through the book.

"Sammy, look at this," Dean said, his voice somewhat serious.

Sam looked up at the picture Dean was staring at in the coloring book. The left-hand side of the coloring book was split into three sections, kind of like a makeshift comic

book. In the largest portion on top was three stick-figures and a house. The house was smaller, one-story and was colored blue. The first figure was up in the top corner.

Her hair was long and brown, but her eyes were bright blue. She had gray outlines of angel wings. The larger stick-figure, standing next to the house, had short black

hair, a close shaven beard and brown eyes. That figure was holding the hand of a Carter-stick-figure, red hair sticking out on end, freckles and all.

The bottom half was split into two sections. The first depicting the bearded man, laying on the floor, red surrounding him. The second picture was just a circle with some

squiggles in it.

The right-hand side of the coloring book was filled with one picture. It was unmistakable. A side view of a child-drawn 1967 Chevy Impala took up the top half of the

picture, and below were three stick figures. A taller stick man, that had to be Sam, with shoulder-length brown hair, half-smile, holding a book in one stick-hand and

holding one of Carter's hands. A smile was drawn on the small stick figure's face, along with the brown freckles and mussed up red hair. On the other side of Carter was

Dean, with brown and yellow spikes for hair, also holding Carter's other hand. In his free hand was the Demon Knife. Carter had also added gray angel-wing outlines to

Dean's stick figure.

Dean and Sam sat, speechless for a few minutes.

Sam cleared his throat, "What-" he cleared his throat again. "What do you think that is?" He asked, pointing at the small round object on the first page.

"No idea," Dean said, taking another shot of whiskey. I'm going to bed."

Dean took one last shot of the Jack Daniels and got in the same bed with Carter. After setting an alarm on the clock, he rolled over away from Sam and went to sleep.

...

The alarm Dean set went off at five a.m. and with Dean herding Carter into a 'quick' shower and out the door, they were on the road at eight after breakfast and some

much needed coffee for Sam and Dean. Dean sped as fast as he dared and they made the seven-hour drive in six hours, stopping one last time when they were close, so

Sam and Dean could change into their suits.

"This place is huge," Dean said. Sam nodded.

 ****SPN****

There were a bunch of buildings around them and Sam and Dean didn't seem to know exactly where they were going. Eventually, they seemed to find the building they

were looking for and they went inside. There was an office, with a kind-looking lady sitting behind the tall desk.

 _Hello!_ She said, and signed! _How can I help!_

 _You sign?!_ Carter signed back to her.

 _Of course, sweetheart! This is a deaf school. What's your name?_

She moved her index and second finger above her other hand, swirled them, and tapped her hand, then put her fists together and flicked her thumbs up and down. She

indicated around her and made two rock hands with the pinkies sticking out and tapped them together. She then pointed the index and second finger on both hands out

and tapped them together twice and pointed at Carter.

 _C-A-R-T-E-R_ He spelled, then he made a "C" hand. He then used his index finger and pulled down in front of his lips. Carter looked like he couldn't be happier. Carter held

out his hand to Sam and Dean each in turn with his middle two fingers tucked down and his thumb, index and pinky and extended. _I love you! I love you!_ They had

brought him to a place where others knew sign language.

 _Oh, my!_ The lady behind the desk said and signed at once, smiling. _What can I help you gentlemen with?_

Carter watched as Dean said something to the lady and pulled a wallet looking thing out of his pocket that he couldn't see.

 _Well, another staff member will come take my place soon. We can go to the library._

Carter danced around Dean, still excited, reaching up.

Dean absentmindedly reached down and picked him up, still conversing with the lady behind the desk. A minute later, another woman came up to her and took her

place, and the lady behind the desk led them out of the office.

 ****SPN****

"Oh, my!" The lady behind the desk said and signed looking down at the celebrating Carter, smiling. "What can I help you gentlemen with?"

"Ma'am, we're with the FBI," Dean said, pulling his fake badge out of his pocket and flashing it to the lady. "This boy is in danger and it'd really help us to have an

interpreter for a couple hours."

"Well, another staff member will come take my place soon, we can go to the library," She said, worry gracing her face.

Carter was dancing around Dean, reaching up at him, so he leaned down and picked him up. A minute later, another woman came up to her and took her place, and the

lady behind the desk led them out of the office.

"What was that sign he did toward both of us?" Sam asked.

"Oh, it means 'I love you.' He must be very attached to you, Agents, by the way I'm Connie," She said, while they followed her down the hallway. "How old is he?"

Dean and Sam exchanged an uncertain look.

"Five," Dean said, shrugging at Sam.

"Here we are!" She said, leading them into the library. She led them to a small circular table and sat down. Dean and Sam took seats on either side of Carter who was

straight across from Connie.

"You must understand, that everything said and signed here is strictly confidential information, ma'am," Sam said.

"Well, of course," Connie said.

Sam pulled the coloring book out of his jacket and flipped to the page with Carter's drawings. He pointed to the top picture, to the lady stick-figure. "Who's this?"

Carter took an open five hand and tapped his chin twice with his thumb.

"Mother," Connie said.

"And is this Dad?" Dean asked pointing to the male figure.

Carter nodded.

"What is this?" Dean asked, pointing at the round object.

 _C-O-I-N_ Carter signed, then made a 'V' hand and pulled it down on either side of his mouth.

"Coin of the twins?" Connie asked.

Carter nodded. _C-A-S-T-O-R and P-O-L-L-U-X._

Carter placed a five hand against his forehead, pointed away from him, brought the index finger to his chin, and tapped his chest. He placed an open palm on his chest,

then stuck his pinky out and flipped his hand over. He then tapped two 'K' hands together, made two fists, crossed them and brought them out to the sides. He placed a

'wall' hand and brought his other palm to meet it. He pointed his two index fingers out and met his hands together and then brought a five hand to his forehead and

brought it down to his chest. Finally he brought a cupped palm towards himself.

"Castor and Pollux. Dad told me it's my job to keep it safe until the Right Man comes," Connie said.

"Right man? Who are Castor and Pollux? Where's the coin?" Sam asked rapidly.

Carter began signing what seemed like a long story.

"I don't know the Right Man. Dad said I would know when I see him. I have coin. I don't understand the story of the Twins, except Castor and Pollux helped people and

the coin makes the twins help people. It can only be given at will by the Right Man. I hold it for the Right Man," Connie interpreted.

"Is that what Desmen wanted? The Coin?" Dean asked.

Carter looked at Dean curiously, then put his thumbs up to his temples and flapped his fingers, took his index finger across his forehead and pointed to his eyes with a

questioning look on his face.

"Demon, black eyes?" Connie said, surprised.

"Yes," Dean said. "Is that what he wanted?"

Carter nodded.

Connie suddenly gasped. Dean and Sam looked up and jumped to their feet. Carter turned in his seat. There stood a man, in an all black suit complete with a tie. He had

a receding hair line and scruff on his face.

"Hello, Darlings," He said. With a flick of his wrist, Sam, Dean and Connie were thrown backward off their feet. Carter looked wildly around at the movement before

staring back at the man in surprise and fear. "Let's you and me have a chat."

 **I'd like to apologize for not absolutely everything in sign language. I did as much as I could, but doing everything was just going to take too long. Hope you enjoyed. Special thank you to ArtistKurai for her kind words! I will update as soon as I can!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four! Welcome back, the last chapter was a bit of a cliffhanger wasn't it?! I don't own Supernatural, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up. I do, though, own Carter. Happy reading! Special thanks to my awesome reviewer ArtistKurai, you're awesome!**

RECAP

Connie suddenly gasped. Dean and Sam looked up and jumped to their feet. Carter turned in his seat. There stood a man, in an all black suit complete with a tie. He had a

receding hair line and scruff on his face.

"Hello, Darlings," He said. With a flick of his wrist, Sam, Dean and Connie were thrown backward off their feet. Carter looked wildly around at the movement before staring

back at the man in surprise and fear. "Let's you and me have a chat."

"Crowley!" Dean snarled, he, Sam and Connie were stuck in place by Crowley's power.

"Shut up, Squirrel! My business has only to do with Carter here."

Dean grunted in pain and coughed. A trickle of blood dribbled from his mouth. Carter glared at Crowley, although he was terrified.

"Alright, kiddo. Now, I'm gonna need you to give me that coin," Crowley said, looming over Carter's small form.

Carter pointed at himself, and pointed his index fingers out. He brought one index down past the other. Crowley's faced looked like he'd just swallowed a particularly strong

shot mixed with confusion. He stared at the boy, and gave an angry huff.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" He snarled. "You!" He pointed at Connie. "Tell me what he's saying!"

Crowley released his hold on Connie, who trembled over to where Carter was. He performed the motion to Crowley again and shook his head.

"He says 'I can't'," She replied, her voice trembling.

Dean and Sam both struggled against Crowley's invisible hold on them.

Crowley made a mocking face, but then screamed, "Just give it to me! Give it to me, or I swear I'll kill you and everyone else in this bloody place!"

Carter's eyes filled with tears as he performed the motion again desperately. He then stopped suddenly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, flat box, only just big

enough for a quarter to fit in. Opening it, he pulled out a coin, a little thicker than a quarter. He held it out to Crowley between his index and thumb.

"Carter! Don't!" Sam yelled, but Crowley silenced him as he'd done to Dean.

"There's a good lad. Hand it here," Crowley said, reaching forward.

Just as Crowley's fingertips came near the coin, Carter yanked his arm away and tossed the coin as hard as he could across the room. Crowley turned and followed the coin's

arch, walking towards it. Connie fled the room. Sam and Dean were still paralyzed by Crowley's power, but Carter wasn't. He ran to Dean and fumbled through the pockets in

the suit jacket, pulling out the Demon Knife. Crowley was still messing around on floor, trying to grab up the coin from where it had landed.

"Bollocks! Why can't I pick it up, dammit?!" He snarled.

 ****SPN****

Carter made his way over and stopped about four feet behind the man. He took his free hand and knocked on one of the bookcases to get the man's attention. He

straightened his back and turned toward Carter. Carter brandished the Demon Knife at the strange man.

 _Now, now. Little boys ought not play with sharp objects_ He said, reaching toward Carter, _better to hand it over here before you get hurt_.

Carter swung the knife at the man in warning and shook his head. With his other hand, he pointed at the man, and then over to Sam and Dean, who looked horrified.

 _Do you know who I am?!_ Crowley snarled, his face livid.

Carter shook his head, pointing again.

 _I'm the King of Hell, you little—_

Carter jumped forward, adrenaline overriding his fear of the King. He dodged the man's grab at him, and sliced the knife across the King's outstretched arm. Going down to

the floor in a somersault like his dad taught him, Carter grabbed the coin from the floor, tucking it back into his pocket. He turned and looked up at the fuming man, who was

clutching his bleeding arm.

Carter pointed the knife at the King once more, and then pointed at Sam and Dean.

 _If I could kill you, I would_ the King said. _I'll just kill Sam and Dean since I have them here._

The King curled his hand into a fist. Sam and Dean both coughed up blood that spattered on the floor. Carter wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't let his angels down. He

knew he wasn't a big enough boy to tackle this King, and that might just make him madder. Carter knew one thing, though. The King still needed him alive because Carter

was the only one who could hold the coin besides Right Man. A knife could cut and if a person got cut badly enough, they would die.

Carter raised the knife to his throat for the King to see. With his free hand, he pointed at Sam and Dean and then to himself. His point was clear.

 _You won't do it. You're too scared_ the King laughed and clutched his hand into a fist again.

Carter took a breath and dug the tip of the knife into the soft skin of his neck. It hurt and tears sprang to his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. Not in front of this King. He

stared right into the King's eyes, focusing on the anger, because Carter knew if he even glanced at Sam and Dean, his courage would fail him.

 _Fine! See you next time child, I'll get you. Have fun with Moose and Squirrel._

With that, the King disappeared.

The tears finally fell. This was just too much. Everything was too much. Carter sat down hard on the floor, dropping the knife and placing his open five hand against his

forehead over and over again. _Dad dad dad dad..._

He felt himself being lifted and fought it at first, until he saw Dean and Sam's worried faces. He threw himself at them, wrapping his arms around both of them as best he

could. He actually ended up with one hand clutching the front of Dean's suit jacket and the other hand twisted tightly into Sam's long hair.

Sam and Dean wrapped him up into a hug.

 ****SPN****

Dean and Sam felt the invisible bonds fall away and watched as Carter fell to the floor with his hand tapping his forehead. They wiped the blood off of their chins quickly and

ran over to him.

"Come here, buddy," Dean said, as both he and Sam picked Carter up. He struggled at first, but when he saw who was there, Carter threw himself into the brothers. In his

attempt to hug both Dean and Sam at once, Carter ended up with one hand clutching the front of Dean's suit jacket and the other hand twisted tightly into Sam's long hair.

Sam winced, but didn't make any move to change Carter's position. Dean reached out and untangled Carter's hand from Sam's hair, standing up after. Carter wrapped his

arms tightly around Dean's neck, tears still falling from his eyes.

"We gotta get out of here, right now. God knows who that lady has called," Sam said, running to the library door and blockading it.

"Definitely. Bobby's? He's only like three hours away," Dean said.

"Makes the most sense!" Sam exclaimed, grabbing one of the wooden chairs from the table.

"What are you going to—" Dean started. Sam smashed the chair into one of the large windows three times until the glass shattered to the floor. "Jesus!"

"C'mon!" Sam yelled, climbing out. Dean ran over and quickly, but carefully, climbed out after Sam.

They ran around the large building and finally came to the Impala, hearing multiple sirens in the distance. Dean opened the back door and tried to put Carter down inside. He

wouldn't let go. He clung even tighter to Dean, grabbing the back of the suit jacket.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled, the sirens getting even closer.

He threw the keys to Sam, who climbed over into the driver's seat, albeit awkwardly. Dean got into the backseat and slammed the door shut. Sam peeled out just as the

police and rescue squads were arriving. They sped onto the interstate, heading north toward Sioux Falls. Despite Dean rubbing Carter's back and doing his best to comfort

him, Carter's breathing was becoming erratic, hitching and gasping. Dean pulled Carter away from his shoulder and began wiping the tears. Reaching into his back pocket,

Dean pulled out a napkin and wiped the snot from Carter's face. Dean rubbed his shoulders as tears kept falling.

"It'll be okay," Dean said.

Carter shook his head, harshly, and dropped his head, still hiccupping for air. Dean lifted Carter's chin up so he was looking at Dean.

"I promise. Bobby will know what to do. Everything will be alright. I'll make sure of it, Sam and I are here, we won't let anything else happen to you."

Carter leaned his head in to Dean's chest, tucking it under Dean's chin. He made the 'I love you' sign with his hand and tapped it on Dean's chest, then brought an open hand

to his forehead and tapped twice. Dean did the only thing he could think of, he wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, and sang. He sang the only song that had ever made

him feel better.

 _Hey Jude_

 _Don't make it bad_

 _Take a sad song and make it better_

 _Remember to let her into your heart  
_ _  
Then you can start to make it better_

 _Hey Jude, don't be afraid  
_ _  
You were made to go out and get her_

The minute you let her under your skin

Then you begin to make it better

Carter was asleep by the time Dean hit the third verse, but Dean sang the entire song anyway. He wasn't sure if it was for Carter or himself.

 **...**

Sam pulled into Bobby's about seven-thirty. The ride had been mostly silent sans Dean humming. Carter was still tucked against his chest, asleep. Sam parked right in front

of the house. They grabbed their stuff and dashed to the door as quickly as possible, knocking loudly.

The door swung open, and Bobby's jaw dropped in surprise. Sam and Dean with Carter rushed in past Bobby. Sam slammed the door shut and began salting it back off. Dean

made his way to the kitchen for some glasses.

"What in the _hell_ have you two idjits gotten yourself into?!" Bobby exclaimed, following Sam into the study.

Dean joined a minute later with three glasses. Bobby poured some whiskey in all three and they gave a silent 'cheers' before drinking. Dean shifted Carter a little, and sat

down on the sofa. Sam took a seat next to him, and Bobby sat down behind the desk, looking at the boys expectantly.

"Do you have any lasagna by chance?" Dean asked, hopefully.

Bobby snorted, "Maybe after you tell me why you've got a kid sleeping on your shoulder and are acting like you're being chased by hellhounds."

Sam relayed the story of the last few days back to Bobby.

"...so Carter is the only one who can handle the coin, except for this Right Man he keeps on about. I saw it with my own eyes. Crowley couldn't pick the thing up off the floor.

We hightailed it here because you were close and possibly the only person who can help us."

Bobby sat speechless for a few minutes. He got up and went to the kitchen. Dean leaned back and rested his head on the back of the couch, sighing. Sam put his head in his

hands, and ran his fingers through his hair. Bobby came back about ten minutes later with two heaping plates of lasagna.

Dean and Sam thanked Bobby and dug in. The smell must have aroused Carter out of his sleep; he lifted a weary head up off Dean's chest and looked at him.

"Hey, kiddo, you hungry?" Dean asked.

He nodded and yawned widely. Bobby made to get up, but Dean shook his head, holding a bite out to Carter on his own fork. Dean took turns eating a bite and holding one

out for Carter until the plate was gone. Bobby had busied himself looking through books. Sam took his plate and Dean's into the kitchen.

Carter brought an index finger up to his chin and fluttered it up and down, then pointed to Bobby.

"That's Bobby," Dean said. He held a flat palm up, thumb crossed over, made an 'O', did the same palm motion again, taking his hand sideways, and finally made a fist with

his thumb and pinky sticking out.

Bobby looked up in time to see Dean sign out his name. Carter looked over and waved. He pointed at himself and spelled _C-A-R-T-E-R_.

"Carter," Dean said to Bobby, as Sam came back into the room and sat down.

"Alright, lemme see this 'Coin of Twins,'" Bobby said.

Carter looked over at Sam, who nodded and pointed at Bobby. He got down off of the couch and went over to Bobby's desk. When Carter was standing next to Bobby's chair,

he pulled the coin out of his pocket and set it on the desk. Bobby reached out to pick it up, only to find that the coin seemed to melt through his fingers.

"What the..." Bobby was astonished.

Carter pointed at Bobby. He tapped his thumb to his index and second finger twice, made two fists pointed the index finger out on each one and tapped his fists together. He

raised an open hand to his forehead and brought it down to his chest.

Bobby looked to the couch.

"You're not the Right Man," Sam said.

Carter looked at Sam happily and ran over to give him a hug. Sam obliged and shrugged at Bobby.

"Alright, from what I can find about Castor and Pollux is that they were twins. They were in the business of helping people while out on ship crews. That's what they liked to

do. I can't find much about the coin, except one line in this Greek book: 'A coin was forged for the brothers so that their love of helping people would be carried on

throughout generations.'"

"So, the coin makes the holder help people?" Sam asked.

Carter waved at Sam and made the sign for 'twins.'

"Twins? Whoever owns the coin has to be twins?" Sam asked Carter. He nodded.

"So, your dad had a twin? Is that who the Right Man is?!" Sam asked, holding Carter's shoulders.

Carter nodded once more, less sure this time.

"Where's your dad's brother?" Sam asked.

Carter shrugged. He pointed at himself, held up a wall hand passed a flat palm over and past it. He pointed two index fingers up and brought them together. Finally he raised

an open hand to his forehead and down to his chest. He waited a moment, then touched his two index fingers at the tips and brought them away from each other. He made a

'V' hand and brought it next to either side of his chin.

"Never met him, but they're twins," Dean said. "That's helpful."

"I guess if the brother who is holding it dies, it immediately passes to the other," Sam questioned.

"Must be," Bobby said.

"Then why can Carter pick the coin up?" Dean asked.

"Flesh and blood?" Bobby guessed. "Beats the hell outta me."

Sam stood up and picked Carter up with him. Carter stiffened in Sam's arms for a moment, and then relaxed.

"So, what in the hell do demons want with that coin?" Dean asked.

Bobby shrugged, looking perplexed.

"Nothing makes any sense. We need to find this Right Man," Sam said. "It'll solve the coin problem and that means Carter has at least one relative somewhere."

A look flashed across Dean's face that Sam didn't recognize. Bobby's eyebrows furrowed together at Dean. The look passed as quickly as it came.

"Sam, why don't you take Carter up and put in him the room you two usually stay in," Bobby said, it was more of an order than a question.

Sam merely nodded and carried Carter upstairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome to Chapter 5! It feels great to be here, much love to you all! Super special thanks to ArtistKurai, as well as bitterreaper 'cause you're awesome. As per usual, I don't own Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up. I do, however, own Carter.**

 **I super love reviews, so if you have a couple seconds and you enjoy the story, please leave one! Happy reading!**

 **...**

RECAP

"Nothing makes any sense. We need to find this Right Man," Sam said. "It'll solve the coin problem and that means Carter has at least one relative somewhere."

A look flashed across Dean's face that Sam didn't recognize. Bobby's eyebrows furrowed together at Dean. The look passed as quickly as it came.

"Sam, why don't you take Carter up and put in him the room you two usually stay in," Bobby said, it was more of an order than a question.

Sam merely nodded and carried Carter upstairs.

 ****SPN****

Carter leaned against Sam's side. Suddenly, Sam stood and picked Carter up as well. Carter tensed, Sam had never picked him up before. Sam adjusted him to his hip,

like Dean would do, and Carter relaxed against Sam's chest. Dean was going to be Dad now. Carter decided that his dad had sent Dean to be his new Dad, because Dean

did all the things dads were supposed to do. Dean understood that purple was a terrible color, and comforted him, just like dad. Dean even hummed and sang for him,

just like dad. Dean took him to the nice lady who could sign, though the King of Hell had ruined that. Soon after, Sam was carrying him up a flight of stairs and into a

bedroom that had two twin-sized beds. He placed Carter down on one of the beds.

 _I'll be right back, I forgot our bags_ Sam said.

Carter looked around the room. The room looked like it belonged to someone, not like when they stayed at the cookie-cutter motels. It looked like his room had at

home. There were a couple model planes and cars on a bookshelf, and some posters on the wall. One was a fancy car, the other was a group of four men with a word he

didn't understand. _M-E-T-A-L-L—_ Something else caught his eye. There was a picture in the corner on a small desk space. Carter hopped off the bed, dashed over and

grabbed the picture. The picture contained two boys standing in front of two grown-up men. All he could do was stare at the photo. Carter caught movement out of the

corner of his eye and turned to see Sam dropping their bags.

 _Whatcha got there?_ Sam asked, walking over to Carter.

Carter brought an index finger up to his chin and fluttered it up and down before pointing to the dark-haired man in the photo. Sam placed an open palm on his chest

and then brought a five hand to his forehead, touching the thumb.

 _My dad_ Sam said as well. _And that's me_ he said, pointing to a sandy-haired boy. Sam waited until Carter looked back at him. _There's Dean and Bobby._

Carter looked from the picture back to Sam.

 _Dean and I spent a lot of time here with Bobby when we were kids. As you can see_ he pointed to the room around them _Bobby let us decorate the room. Are you tired?_

Carter shrugged, he'd had a long nap with Dad in the car. Sam went over to the bookcase, he reached up on top and pulled a very dusty 'Chutes and Ladders' game

down. Carter watched curiously. _You wanna play?_

Carter smiled and nodded, excitedly. Sam set the game up on the floor and sat down across from Carter. Carter placed the picture he'd found next to him and they

played two games. He and Sam each won a game. It was a little odd, playing with Sam instead of Dad, but Sam was still fun to play with and he taught Sam how to sign

the numbers as they went along. Carter was getting more tired by the end of the second game. He looked up at Sam and waved his index finger back and forth before

placing an open hand on his forehead, tapping the thumb.

Sam looked confused. _My dad?_ He asked, pointing to himself.

Carter shook his head and performed the motion again.

 _You mean Dean?_

Carter nodded and performed the motion once more.

 _He's talking to Bobby. Why don't you get dressed for bed?_

Carter nodded and did so, changing into the grey t-shirt Dad had given him that first night. Sam finished putting the game away and picked the photo up off the floor,

looking at it. Carter went over and held up his arms to Sam, who reached down and picked him up. Sam walked him over and placed him inside the covers on one of the

twin beds.

Sam sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Carter.

 _What's up with calling Dean 'dad' now?_ Sam asked.

Carter pointed at himself and raised his hand to his forehead. He held one palm flat and skated the other hand across it. _D-E-A-N_. Carter placed his two palms together

perpendicularly and then reversed their orientation, so they ended up perpendicular the other way. He then pointed to himself again and raised his hand to his forehead.

 _You think your dad sent Dean to be your new Dad?_ Sam asked.

Carter nodded, happy that Sam was getting so good at interpreting. He then pointed at himself and tapped his palm on his head. _I know!_

Sam nodded very slowly. He looked at Carter for a second before saying _Goodnight._ and _Sleep well._ Sam got up from the bed, placed the photo back into its' spot on the

desk, shut the light off and left the room.

Carter rolled over, and tried to sleep.

 ****SPN****

For the first time, Dean was glad Carter was deaf. As soon as Sam had Carter out of sight, Bobby turned and gave him a dirty look.

"What do you two think you're _doing_?!" Bobby said, heatedly.

"Trying to stop the demons—"

"Not that! With that kid!"

"I don't—"

"The _hell_ you don't! That kid is attached to you now! And I saw it in your face, you're attached to him now, too! How can you two be so stupid?" Bobby said.

"What were we supposed to do, Bobby? Leave him to be a demon's plaything, huh?! Dump him somewhere and just hope that Crowley and his band of followers

wouldn't find him? We had no choice!" Dean barked back. "We'll figure something out—"

"Eventually," Bobby finished dryly. "You sound like your old man."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Dean accused.

"Well, Dean, when there's kids involved, yes!" Bobby said, pouring them each another shot of whiskey.

"Hey, Dad did the best he could with us," Dean said, softer, and drank the shot.

"Is that what you'll do for Carter when the time comes?" Bobby asked, looking at Dean.

"I don't—"

"If he does have family, will you be able to let him go?"

Dean stayed silent for a few minutes. He wasn't sure, if he was being honest with himself. The thought of leaving Carter with some no-name guy that didn't know what

real protection was left his mouth dry. He clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"If—" Dean cleared his throat. "If they can protect him and care for him properly, then yes." Dean met Bobby's eyes.

Bobby narrowed his eyes at Dean. "And who is going to make that decision?"

"I will."

"Why hasn't there been an amber alert for this kid? Is anyone, besides the King of Hell, looking for him?" Bobby changed the subject.

"I checked every newspaper within a two-hundred mile radius of where that demon held us. There was a huge house fire, said Carter and his dad both perished in the

flames. My guess is the demon lit it up to cover his tracks."

"So the brother thinks the kid is dead. That'll be a fun one to explain."

"No, I don't know. Carter said he never met his uncle, maybe he and Carter's father weren't close at all."

Sam came into the room.

"He asleep?" Bobby asked.

"Probably, I just put him down to bed. Dean, we might have a little problem," Sam said.

"Oh great, now what?" Dean groaned.

"He called you 'Dad'," Sam said.

Bobby's eyes bugged out of his head, and he poured them all another shot. Dean's face was unreadable.

"Really?" Dean asked, accepting the shot from Bobby.

"Yeah," Sam scoffed. "Said his dad sent you to be his new dad. He was pretty dead set on it."

Dean rubbed his face. "I'm going to bed."

"Dean—"

"I'm tired. It's been a long ass day, I'm tired of the pestering, I'm going to bed. We'll figure it out tomorrow," Dean said with finality.

With that, Dean jumped off the couch suddenly as if it had bitten him. He was out of the room in the blink of an eye. Sam stared at Bobby for a minute.

"That was...Weird, right?" Sam asked.

Bobby nodded.

 ****SPN****

Carter had not slept well at all. When he got up, Dean was still sleeping in the other twin bed, so Carter quietly, as quietly as he could anyway, opened the door and went

downstairs. It seemed like Bobby was the only other person up. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper open in his hands. Carter looked at the front page

that was facing toward him.

The date was in bold print. **August, 02.** Carter tapped the date excitedly, causing Bobby to jump. Carter jumped backward at Bobby's sudden movement and lost his

balance. Bobby set the newspaper down and looked at Carter.

 _Sorry, I didn't hear you. You okay?_

Carter nodded, getting up and climbing into the chair across from Bobby. Carter touched his middle finger to his chin and then touched his chest. _It's my birthday!_

Bobby shook his head. _You'll have to tell Sam or Dean when they get up. Want something to eat?_

Carter nodded, much less excited than he was before. Bobby got up and went to the fridge. He turned around and held out a banana. Carter froze, eyes wide. He threw

himself from the table and ran into the study and under the desk as fast as he could. Bananas were bad. Bananas made it so he couldn't breathe and had to stay in the

hospital for two whole days! _No bananas for him!_

He sat until his heart had stopped pounding in his chest. Just as he was gaining the courage to get out from under the desk, Dad's face appeared.

 _Hey, kiddo, good morning_ he said, holding out his arms.

Carter smiled and darted forward into the waiting arms. Dad took him back to the kitchen and set him back down on the chair.

 _Don't worry_ he said. _Bobby put the bananas away. Why are you afraid of them?_

Carter tapped his index and second finger to his thumb. He shook his hands parallel to his chest and then took his index finger from his nose outward to meet his other

index finger and took them away from each other.

 _Not afraid. Then, what?_

Carter was getting even more frustrated. He took an index finger across his throat.

Dad pondered a moment. _Are you allergic?_

Carter nodded.

 _Good to know. Bobby said you tried to tell him something?_

Carter touched his middle finger to his chin and then touched his chest.

Dean shook his head. _Can you spell it?_

 _No!_

He tapped the newspaper, that was still on the table, furiously. He tapped the date, but it was no use. Dad and Bobby both looked confused. Frustration swept through

him and he put his head into his hands, fingers curled in the messy hair.

 ****SPN****

"Can you spell it?" Dean asked.

 _No!_ Carter signed, upset.

He tapped the newspaper furiously, but Dean and Bobby were clueless. The boy dropped his head into his hands and curled his fingers in the messy hair. It was at that

moment Sam walked into the kitchen. He stopped short and looked at Bobby and Dean.

"We got a meltdown coming in T-minus one minute if we don't figure out what he's trying to say," Dean responded.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Bobby tried to give him a banana, apparently, he's allergic," Dean said. "He made this motion to Bobby and me, but we don't know what it means." Dean made the

motion of touching his middle finger to his chin and chest.

Sam sprang into action. He waved at Carter to get his attention. He made an excited face and touched his chin and chest with his middle finger. He pointed at Carter.

"Hey! It's your birthday?" He said as he signed.

Carter nodded, solemnly.

Sam made a fist and pulled it away from his chin and pointed at Carter.

"How old are you?"

Carter held up five fingers.

"Let's celebrate, then!" Sam said.

 _No!_

...

That was really how the rest of the day went. Carter was irritable and frustrated because he was so tired. It was a struggle all day, and no one was in a good mood when

Bobby sat them down for a pot roast dinner that night.

Just as they finished eating, headlights shone into the windows and the rumble of a truck could be heard.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi all, and welcome to Chapter 6! It's great to be here. As per usual, I don't own Supernatural, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up. I do, though, own Carter. ArtistKurai, you're awesome, as usual. Major fluff warning for the end of this chapter.**

 **Happy reading, Readers! Enjoy! (Reviews are awesome...)**

RECAP

That was really how the rest of the day went. Carter was irritable and frustrated because he was so tired. It was a struggle all day, and no one was in a good mood when

Bobby sat them down for a pot roast dinner that night.

Just as they finished eating, headlights shone into the windows and the rumble of a truck could be heard.

…

Sam, Dean and Bobby looked at one another.

"Expecting anyone, Bobby?" Dean asked, mouth full with his last bite.

"Nope," Bobby said.

Carter was still staring down at his plate like it had personally offended him. He glanced up at Dean, and stiffened at the worried look on all their faces. The front door

opened and a tall figure walked in and shut the door, stopping to stare at the people sitting around the table. Dean, Sam and Bobby stared back. Carter hadn't turned

around yet, afraid of coming face to face with the King of Hell again.

John Winchester was the only man brave enough to walk straight into Bobby Singer's house without knocking on the door. He stood near the door and stared at the

kitchen table where Bobby, his two sons and a small red-headed figure that had his back to him sat.

"Hey," Dean said, nervousness on the edge of the word.

John nodded at his eldest with a questioning look on his face. It was at that time, Carter slowly turned in his seat to see who was standing behind him. Carter's eyes

widened and his mouth fell open. He sprang from the table and ran into the other room. John watched the boy run out and looked at the other three, confused. They all

shrugged. Carter bounded back in and straight to John, the Coin of Twins held high in his hand, he was holding it out to John. Fidgeting up and down, Carter tapped the

coin on John's chest. John looked down curiously at the boy, before slowly taking the coin from Carter. He looked back toward the table where Sam, Dean and Bobby

were sitting, absolutely stunned.

"What the—" Dean started.

"How?" Sam asked.

"I'll be damned," Bobby shook his head, incredulously.

Carter was practically dancing in front of John; it seemed all his frustration from the day was gone. He was also signing, way too fast for any of them to comprehend

anything he was trying to convey. Dean, Sam and Bobby all stood from the table, the dinner forgotten. Carter gave up on John, who was still staring between him, the

coin and the other people in the room in utter confusion. He ran to Dean, pointed at himself, acted like he was picking up something between his index finger and

thumb, pointed both index fingers out and touched his fists together. Finally he brought an open hand to his forehead and down to his chest, tapping his thumb.

"What? You found the Right Man? Dad is the Right Man?" Dean asked.

Carter nodded furiously, obviously ecstatic with himself. He held his arms up to Dean, who picked him up before turning to stare at John.

"I don't think I've ever been so confused in my entire life," John said. "What the hell is going on?"

"Good question," Sam said. "We're wondering the same thing."

"Let's go into the study and talk," Bobby suggested.

John turned and led the way to the study, putting the coin into his jeans. John and Dean, with Carter on his lap, sat down on the sofa. Bobby sat down behind the desk

and Sam brought a chair from the kitchen.

Carter was signing to John from Dean's lap, fast and excited.

John held out a hand, palm down and slid his other hand over it front from fingertips to his wrist. He then pointed at himself pointed his index and second finger straight

out on both hands and tapped them together. _J-O-H-N._ He then signed a 'J' and tapped his hands to his shoulders.

This made Carter even more excited, but he slowed his signing down. He pointed at John, then at Sam and Dean; he took an open hand and tapped his forehead with

his thumb.

John nodded. John pointed his index and second finger straight out on both hands and tapped them together again, this time he pointed at Carter.

Carter signed _C-A-R-_ _T-E-R._ He made a 'C' and pulled his index finger down from his lips.

John brought his hand near his head and tapped his index finger and thumb together. Carter nodded.

Carter pointed at Dean, then at himself, and brought his hand up to his forehead and tapped his thumb there. John looked slightly confused.

The entire time John and Carter signed to each other, the other three men just sat in stunned silence. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"There something you wanna tell us, Dad?" Sam asked.

John shrugged.

"Maybe a long lost twin you haven't told us about?" Dean prodded.

Again, John shrugged. He checked his watch, and waved at Carter. When he had Carter's attention, he placed two wall hands and circled them around each other, tapped

his middle finger to his chin and then his chest and pointed to Carter.

Carter brought a cupped palm to his mouth and quickly brought it away toward John.

Sam, Dean and Bobby were still staring at John expectantly.

 ****SPN****

Carter couldn't believe it. There he was. The man from the picture with young Sam and Dad, the man who looked exactly like his real dad. _Right Man!_ Carter jumped

from the table and ran as fast as he could to the study. He grabbed the coin off of Bobby's desk, where it still sat from the previous night. He raced back to the man as

fast as he could, hopping up and down, tapping the coin to him.

The man looked slightly confused, but reached out and took the coin. Carter celebrated as the man looked toward the other men, and back at Carter. _Look! You took_

 _coin! You're Right Man! My real dad said I know you when I see you and I do!_ The man looked from Carter to the others and Carter ran over to Dad.

 _I found Right Man!_ He signed.

 _What? You found the Right Man? Dad is the Right Man?_ Dad asked.

Carter nodded and held his arms up to Dad, who picked him up. After a moment, they all walked into the study. Dad sat down on the sofa, with Carter on his lap, next to

the man and Carter turned and immediately began signing to him again, fast and excited.

The man suddenly signed to him! _Slow down!_ _I'm J-O-H-N. Brave John._

 _You are their Dad_ Carter signed, pointing to Sam and Dean.

John nodded his response. _What's your name?_

 _C-A-R-T-E-R. Carter with Red._

 _Hair?_ John asked.

Carter nodded. _This is my Dad_.

John looked slightly confused, and then looked away.

Carter realized the others were talking to John. He shrugged a couple times at them, and checked his watch.

 _Hey! Happy Birthday to you!_

 _Thank you!_

Sam, Dad and Bobby were still staring at John expectantly. Carter stared between all of the men in the room.

 _Dad, do you have a brother?_ Sam asked.

John simply nodded.

Carter signed to John. He pointed and made two 'L' hands bringing one to his forehead and then down to meet the other. Carter pointed to himself and brought his index

finger to his lips and brought it straight out. He took a five hand to his forehead and tapped his thumb. _Your brother is my real dad._

Again, John nodded.

Carter then made a 'V' hand and touched it next to either side of his mouth. _Twins!_

John nodded again and looked at his watch.

John pointed at Carter. He then made an 'X' hand and flicked it forward. He made two 'R' hands and shook them parallel to each other. He then placed one cupped hand

palm down in front of him and pointed his index and second finger palm up on the other hand. Then he placed the two fingers under the cupped hand.

Carter furrowed his brows, crossed his arms and shook his head.

John furrowed his brows and performed the motion again, sharply. _You should get ready to go to bed!_

 _No!_

Dad stood up with Carter and placed him on his hip. Wrapping his other arm around him, Dad starting to hum, rocking back and forth. Carter soon realized just how tired

he really was, and laid his head down in the crook of Dad's neck. He wrapped his arms around Dad's neck and sighed.

 ****SPN****

 _No!_ Carter signed, his stubbornness suddenly back at full force. Dean stood up with Carter and brought him up on his hip. Dean wrapped his other hand around Carter,

praying he'd fall asleep quickly. This whole day had been hard. Carter had been fairly easygoing since they'd had him, but today Dean had the pleasure to realize that

Carter was just about as stubborn as John Winchester.

Dean felt Carter wrap his arms around his neck, the boy snuggled into his neck as Dean began humming.

"Deep Purple?" Sam and Bobby asked simultaneously.

"Shh... It's working," Dean replied, and continued to hum 'Smoke on the Water.'

"Dean, what are you doing?" John asked.

"Praying that he'll fall asleep soon. It's been way too long of a day."

"He's old enough to put himself to sleep, Dean. You're being absolutely ridiculous," John chided.

"He lost his dad a few days ago and had a run-in with the King of Hell yesterday, alright? He needs someone to comfort him!"

"Mhm, yeah, and he's already calling you 'Dad.' What's that about?"

Dean turned away angrily and walked out of the room. He carried Carter upstairs and to the room he'd stayed in since he was young. Dean laid Carter carefully on the

bed, surprised when he saw two chocolate brown eyes staring back at him.

"Hey, kid, I thought you were asleep," Dean said, softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed, looking at Carter.

Carter shook his head, solemnly.

"I see... Oh, Carter, what am I gonna do with you?" Dean was asking himself more than Carter, but he replied anyway.

He pointed at himself, made a fist with his pinky and thumb sticking out and pressed it forward, then pointed at Dean. He brought an open hand to his forehead and

tapped the thumb there. After waiting a moment, he pointed at Dean again, touched his index finger to his chin and touched it to his chest. _I stay with you, Dad. You_

 _told me._

Dean's heart stopped for a moment. An avalanche of thoughts rushed through his head, just as they had the night before when Sam said Carter had called him 'Dad.'

The thoughts and feelings were stronger now, though, washing over him like waves at the beach. They hit his gut, one after another. Memories flooded his thoughts,

good and bad. What ifs and maybes played out simultaneously.

Carter's hand was motioning to Dean. _I love you._

His heart shattered. Shattered into pieces. Time stood still for a moment, but to Dean it felt like an hour, a day, a year. The memories of being raised on the road, raising

his own brother while he was still trying to grow up as well. The dangers and hardships of the hunting life. The special bond he shared with Sam, having taught him to

tie his shoes and talk to girls. The things fathers' were supposed to do. The things their father hadn't done.

His mind sped forward to the past few days, a small red-haired, brown-eyed boy looking at him with tears in his eyes. Learning how to sign his own name, and starting

to communicate. Playing tic-tac-toe, fixing Sam's mistake with a grey shirt pulled from his duffel bag, looking down at Carter's small form sleeping next to him. Holding

Carter close after their run-in with Crowley, heart still beating a thousand miles an hour after seeing Carter holding a knife to his throat for him and Sam. Feeding him

lasagna from his own fork.

" _You're like...father material,"_ Sam's voice boomed in his head. He'd already raised one kid.

Carter touched his forehead with the tips of his fingers and brought them away to form a 'Y' hand. Then he touched his index fingers near his eyes and brought them

down the side of his face. _Why are you crying?_ Carter looked worried.

Dean wiped his face quickly, not realizing he had let tears fall from his eyes. He smiled at Carter, eyes still wet, before tucking his middle and ring finger down to his palm,

and sticking his thumb index and pinky straight. He then touched each of his thumbs to the tips of the fingers and touched his hands together. _I love you more._


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow! Welcome to chapter 7. How did you feel about the last chapter?**

 **Thank you to kelly. , MercedesRayne, bitterreaper, Red K 5, and of course a super special thank you to ArtistKurai! As per usual, I don't own Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up (although, I do have Jensen Ackles on my Christmas list). I do, however, own Carter. Happy reading!**

...

RECAP

Dean wiped his face quickly, not realizing he had let tears fall from his eyes. He smiled at Carter, eyes still wet, before tucking his middle and ring finger down to his palm,

and sticking his thumb, index and pinky straight. He then touched each of his thumbs to the tips of the fingers and touched his hands together. _I love you more._

 ****SPN****

 _I love you._ Carter motioned.

Dad looked down at him, emotions flashing across his face too fast for Carter to read. He seemed to look past Carter for a moment and tears welled up in his eyes and

spilled over.

 _Why are you crying?_ Carter looked at his dad, worried.

Dad wiped the tears away quickly, as if he was surprised to find them there. He smiled a small, warm, smile. _I love you more._

Carter was surprised, but it filled his heart with a happiness he hadn't felt since the black eyed demon had killed his dad. He got up onto his knees on the bed, and

leaned forward to give Dad a hug. Dad wrapped his arms

around him tight for a moment, then pulled him away and laid Carter back down in the bed.

 _So why wouldn't you let us celebrate your birthday? Five is a pretty big step._

Carter took his middle finger and brushed it against his chest in an upward motion. He then took his hand, palm out and touched it to his mouth twice, his scrunched

up.

 _Didn't feel the best?_ Dad asked.

Carter nodded. He'd come close enough.

 _Well, how about tomorrow?_

Carter looked at Dad, confused.

 _If you feel better tomorrow, how about we celebrate?_

Carter nodded, a smile breaking out on his face.

 _Anything special you want to do?_

Carter shrugged. He made two 'A' hands and placed them thumb up, knuckles together near his heart, then moved them together outward and across his body. He

pointed at Dad and made a sweeping motion to indicate

the other people in the house. He made two 'F' hands, touched the thumbs together and rotated his hands in a circle to touch the pinkys together. _With all family._

Dad looked like he was pondering that. _Okay. Well, I think I might have an idea._

Dean reached forward and ruffled Carter's hair a little. _Get some sleep now, okay?_

Carter nodded, and rolled over on his side. He watched as Dad got up from the bed and went to the door. As he put his hand on the light switch, Carter raised his. _I love_

 _you._ Dad made the motion with his hand too. _I love you._

Dad flipped the switch and closed the door. Carter fell asleep almost immediately.

 ****SPN****

Dean turned off the light and closed the door to the room. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and exhaled slowly. He went into the bathroom across the hall and turned

the faucet on, rubbing the cold water on his face. His

emotions were fierce, but conflicted. Neither answer to this problem was a black and white right and wrong answer. Dean stared at his reflection. Everything was so

muddled and grey.

He'd made his choice already, Dean realized.

He had made that choice when he picked Carter up off the floor of the library and silently vowed never to let something like that happen again. He'd made the choice

again just now, signing _I love you_ to Carter, but he hadn't lied. Dean had always had the same full-to-bursting feeling with Sam, pride and protective instincts running

on full power. He hadn't lied to Carter.

Dean had made his choice.

He composed himself and dried his face with a towel before making his way back to the study.

"It was a nasty vetala" John said. "Loner."

"You're lucky," Bobby said.

"So I've been told."

Dean came into the room and collapsed back to his seat on the couch.

"Asleep?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Finally," Dean said.

"You're making a huge mistake," John Winchester said, bluntly.

Dean, Sam and Bobby all looked at John. There was silence for a solid minute.

"Excuse me?" Dean said.

Sam and Bobby were surprised; they had never heard Dean take a tone like that with his father.

"Dean, this is a big mistake. You can't—"

Dean jumped to his feet turned toward John. The argument got increasingly louder.

"No! You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do, Dad! Not now! Not with this!"

It was John's turn to get up.

"You don't understand! Raising a kid on the road, it's not easy! And with him being—" John yelled. Dean stepped forward, so he and John were practically nose-to-nose.

"Like you would even know!" Dean cut his father off.

Silence fell.

"Run that by me again, Son. I don't think I heard you right," John's voice was barely above a whisper.

"You didn't raise us, Dad. I did. I did!" Dean wasn't yelling, but his voice was still loud. "You weren't there! I was! You don't get to make this decision. It's my decision to

make and I—"

"I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did, Dean!" John's voice was somewhere between pleading and snarling.

"Oh, no I won't, because I'll actually be there for him!"

John grabbed the front of Dean's shirt. Bobby and Sam snapped out of their stunned silence and got between the two men, pulling and pushing them away from one

another. Sam and Bobby had never seen Dean and John fight. Dean had always been the peacekeeper, breaking the fights between Sam and John.

John and Dean were staring at each other, Bobby and Sam between them. Both faces showed anger and hurt.

"Dean, Carter can't hear. It's going to be so dangerous—"

"Well, he's my son," Dean spat. "I'm not going to leave him."

Dean said this with such finality, that even John closed his mouth.

"Now, why don't you sit down and tell us about this brother of yours, hm?" Dean said. "Oh, and another thing. We're all going to celebrate Carter's birthday tomorrow

because that's what he wants."

"What does he want to do?" Sam asked.

"He doesn't really know, but I have an idea," Dean said.

Dean went to the kitchen and got another chair. Everyone sat back down, Bobby passing around full glasses of whiskey before taking his seat behind the desk again.

Dean looked back to John.

"Well, we're waiting," Dean prodded, annoyance still at the edge of his voice.

John sighed, his shoulders drooping.

"Yes, I have—had—a twin brother. He was born deaf while I wasn't. Mom and Dad learned and taught us sign language; I helped teach Paul how to talk, even though he

was deaf. Our Aunt Helen was the one who gave Paul the coin when we turned ten. Paul was fifteen minutes older than I was. She'd had a twin, but she died when they

were four or so in a swimming accident. We grew up; I moved to Lawrence to be a mechanic and met Mary. Paul moved to Montgomery Alabama and met Loretta

Malcom. Paul and I used to write letters to keep in contact. He came to visit once, right after you were born, Dean, but of course you wouldn't remember. We lost

contact after what happened to you boys' mother," John sighed. "Five years ago, I got a letter while I was up in Minnesota. It was from Paul. I'll never know how he

found out where I was, but it said that he'd finally married Loretta in 1985. She'd been an only child, so they'd decided to use her last name instead of Winchester. The

letter said they'd had a baby boy, but that they lost a baby girl and Loretta died of blood loss during the birth. Paul named him Carter and he was deaf too. I never wrote

him back. I feel terrible about that now, but I had to hightail it out of the town and I lost the envelope with Paul's address," John switched subjects. "The coin is a

blessing and a curse. It makes the twins who own the coin want desperately to help people, but oftentimes one of the twins will die early on in life, after receiving the

coin. I'm guessing that's why Carter can hold the coin, since he is technically a twin. I've been researching the coin when I've had time since I found out about the

supernatural and magic. I never believed the legend Aunt Helen told us because neither of us died and it seemed ridiculous. I've been guessing that there's a demon

that has followed the coin since its creation, and based on what Sam filled me in on, I'm right. I'm also guessing that's why one of the twins usually dies, though I

don't think Carter's sister had anything to do with the coin. My other guess is that the King of Hell is building an army with the deceased twins, to do what, I don't know,

but I think the army is ready and that's why Crowley wants the coin."

In unison, the four men downed their whiskey.

"So, we have to destroy the coin," Sam said.

"Can we melt it?" Dean asked.

"Paul and I tried to, once, when we were teenagers. Just for laughs. We made a bonfire in the backyard. Paul tossed the coin in and it disappeared. We were stunned.

When Paul shoved his hands in his pockets a little later,

there it was," John replied.

"So how do we destroy it?" Sam asked.

"Toss it in a damn lake," Bobby said. "Won't destroy it, but it'll keep it from goin' into the wrong hands."

"Bobby," Dean stated.

"What?"

"You're awesome."

"Yeah, well, that happens. It's damn late and if we're celebrating Carter's birthday tomorrow, I think we should get some sleep," Bobby replied. "This leads us to our next

issue. I don't have enough beds for this family

anymore, so someone's sleeping on the couch."

"I will," John said.

 ****SPN****

Carter woke up, feeling a lot better than he had the previous day. He didn't feel as frustrated, lost and alone. Dad wasn't in the other bed, so Carter got up and went

downstairs. It seemed that Bobby wasn't up yet, and Dad wasn't in the house. Carter wandered into the study and saw John stretched out across the couch, asleep.

Carter thought it weird that two people could look just the same. Same hair, same scruffy short beard, they even slept in the same position, arms crossed across their

chest. He was standing right next to John now, looking right at his face. Even though John was asleep, his lips were twisted into a small frown. Moments passed and

suddenly John's eyes snapped open and he jolted on the couch. This sent Carter back-pedaling in surprise. John was breathing heavily, staring at Carter. His face was

angry.

 _Don't do that!_ He scolded. He then signed it quickly and said it again. John moved into a sitting position and put his head in his hands. Carter approached him, with a

little trepidation, and stood at John's knee. Carter reached forward tentatively, hesitating just for a moment before rubbing his fingers across John's scruffy cheek, just to

see if it even felt the same. It had. John flinched away like he wasn't expecting that and Carter pulled his hand away quickly, hoping he hadn't made the man even more

angry. Carter tapped John's knee and waited for him to look up. Carter put a fist to his chest and moved it in a counter-clockwise motion. _Sorry._

John looked into Carter's eyes, the eyes were much harder than the soft eyes of his real dad had been, but the color was the same. If John would smile, the skin would

crinkle upward and his eyes would shine just as his real dad's had done, but John just stared back at him with those hard eyes. _It's O-K._ He signed.

John stood up and brushed past Carter, heading to the kitchen. Carter got up on the couch and looked between the curtains. A big black truck was sitting outside, but

the black car Dad drove was gone. This worried Carter, what if Sam and Dad had left him here with Bobby and John? Fear gripped him and he jumped off the couch,

panicked.

John came back into the room and looked down at Carter's scared face.

 _Hey, what's up?_ John asked, glancing out the window.

Carter just shook his head, panic making his breathing erratic and gasping.

He was being picked up and fought it. Fear propelled him and he twisted and turned as much as he could until John nearly lost his grip. Suddenly he was sitting on the

couch and John had pinned his arms to his side and was kneeling in front of him. Carter looked at John's face, but another figure caught his eye. Sam was standing in

the doorway to the hall, with jeans and no shirt, hair wet.

 _Hey, bud. What's wrong?_ Sam was looking at him and John curiously.

Carter wriggled out of John's grip and ran over to Sam, wrapping his arms around one of Sam's legs, clinging. Relief flooded through him and he smiled, standing back

up, but still leaning his body against Sam's leg.

 ****SPN****

John picked the boy up off the floor and he began fighting, twisting and turning his body until John nearly dropped him. John got him to the couch and sat him down,

pinning his arms to his sides. Carter looked up into his eyes, before looking beyond his head.

"Hey, bud. What's wrong?" John heard Sam ask from behind him. Carter wiggled out of John's grip and John turned and saw Sam in the doorway. Carter attached

himself to Sam's leg and visibly relaxed.

"What's up?" Sam asked John.

"I—I think he just had a panic attack," John said, unsure.

"What happened?" Sam questioned. Carter was still leaning heavily into Sam's leg, though wasn't clinging as he had been.

"I woke up to him staring at me and it startled me, which startled him. He apologized, I said it was 'OK' and I went in the kitchen. I heard a thump, like he jumped off

the couch, came back in the room and he was frozen, looked like he'd seen a ghost," John relayed the events of the morning.

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked, wondering if his brother would really sleep past ten-thirty.

"Dunno. Car's gone," John replied. He went back to the kitchen and Sam followed, ushering Carter along too.

John started the coffee brewing and Sam coaxed Carter into eating a piece of toast with butter. Carter was just finishing his toast and milk when Bobby and Dean came

into the house. Carter threw himself from the table and into Dean's arms.

"Woah, kiddo! What's up?" Dean swung Carter up into his arms and gave him a hug.

"He had a panic attack this morning," John said, from behind the newspaper.

"He did? Why?" Dean asked, putting Carter back down on the floor.

The newspaper shrugged. Dean furrowed his brow for a moment.

"Well, c'mon everyone. Let's go celebrate Carter's birthday. I got the car all packed up," Dean said.

…..

An hour and a half later, they had pulled into an empty field, secluded from the road by a band of trees. No one would have ever known the field was there, unless

someone _knew_ the field was there. They'd ended up driving two cars, instead of everyone trying to squeeze into the Impala.

Dean and Sam unloaded the trunk of the Impala. A large blanket that they spread out on the grass; a huge cooler packed with ice, food, beer and juice boxes; a soccer

ball that Dean tossed to Carter; and a colorful kite that Dean laid near the blanket. When Sam reached for the last blanket covered item in the car, Dean stopped him

and closed the trunk. Bobby and John had been reluctant companions on this outing, they would have much preferred to stay at Bobby's house, research the coin and

think up ways to protect the family from Crowley. They were sitting on the blanket, beers in hand, Bobby's journal open between them. Dean and Sam began walking

from the car toward the blanket, carrying the cooler between them.

"Wouldn't have killed them to carry the whole cooler, instead of just stopping for a beer," Sam muttered.

Dean chuckled in response.

Carter made his way over to John and Bobby, soccer ball in his arms, stopping just short of the blanket. He set the ball down and waved at John to get his attention.

John looked up at him and he beckoned John toward him, and pointed at the soccer ball. John shook his head. He pointed his index fingers out and moved them forward

toward the field, then made two 'Y' hands and shook them parallel of each other. _Go play!_ Carter crouched down to the grass where he was, watching John and Bobby

and Sam reached the blanket and dropped the cooler at the edge.

Carter waved at John again. He pointed both index fingers at John, and brought them to point at himself. Carter made two 'Y' hands and shook them as John had, made

two fists and put them together near his chest and moved them outward across his chest. He pointed at himself and placed a flat palm over his heart, moving it in a

clockwise motion. _Come play with me, please?_

Dean and Sam watched, still standing next to the cooler, interested to see their father's response. John stared at the young red-haired boy in front of him with his lip

pushed out and his chocolaty eyes pleading. John finally sighed. _O-K!_ He signed, exasperatedly, and got up. Carter bounced up and took off with the ball, playing 'Keep

Away from John.' John played along for a little while, pretending to let Carter get by him with the ball, and fake-stumbling after him.

They had a late lunch and sat around talking, Carter and John signing, practicing with Dean and Sam. The group lounged, drank, and played the afternoon and evening

away, even getting Bobby to join in a game of soccer. Bobby, Sam and Carter vs. Dean and John. They had dinner just as the sun was setting, and when they had

finished, the night sky was clear with a thousand stars shining. Carter was actually sitting in John's lap, and they were both staring at the sky. Dean got up and walked

back to the car; he came back carrying the blanket covered cardboard box.

"Hey, Sammy. C'mere and help me," Dean said.

"It's Sam," He grumbled, getting up and heading over to where Dean was.

The other three watched the two brothers. They walked out into the field, away from the blanket, carrying the box. Each then grabbed a long, stick-like object.

"I can't believe you, Dean," Sam said, laughing. "Got your lighter?"

Dean pulled it from his pocket and flipped it open.

"Fire 'em up!" Sam exclaimed.

Dean lit the ends and he and Sam held the roman candles up above their heads as they whistled and popped.

Bobby, John and Carter, still huddled in John's lap, watching the multi-colored show that silhouetted Dean and Sam's figures.

"Dean, this is great," Sam laughed, leaning down to grab another firework.

"Just like when we were kids, right Sammy?" Dean said back, arranging the fireworks for a grand finale. Sam laughed, taking Dean's lighter from his outstretched hand.

"Fire in the hole!" Sam yelled, lighting the first firework.

He and Sam retreated quickly to the blanket. They all sat together and watched the fireworks explode in showers of multi-colored lights. After the last one died away,

Sam and Dean began to clean and pack everything away. John carried Carter, Sam carried the now empty cooler, and Dean and Bobby carried the rest back to the cars.

The excitement and ruckus of the day had Carter nodding off on John's shoulder, one hand rubbing the scruff of his beard absentmindedly. They loaded everything in the

car, John laying Carter across the backseat, leather jacket draped across his body, and they headed back to Bobby's.


	8. Chapter 8

**Welcome to chapter 8! The last chapter was so long, I hope you liked it. Let me know! Special thanks to those who reviewed: NightReader22, Red K 5, bitterreaper, kelly. , MercedesRayne. A great big thanks to ArtistKurai who is so awesome and gave me the missing link to this story without even knowing it! As usual, I don't own Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester or any other Supernatural characters that happen to pop up. I do, however, own Carter.**

 **Enjoy and Happy Reading!**

RECAP

They all sat together and watched the fireworks explode in showers of multi-colored lights. After the last one died away, Sam and Dean began to clean and pack

everything away. John carried Carter, Sam carried the now empty cooler, and Dean and Bobby carried the rest back to the cars. The excitement and ruckus of the day

had Carter nodding off on John's shoulder, one hand rubbing the scruff of his beard absentmindedly. They loaded everything in the car, John laying Carter across the

backseat, leather jacket draped across his body, and they headed back to Bobby's.

...Three Days Later...

"This is going to be all about timing, good luck, and faith," John Winchester said to Bobby. They had been up all night working out a plan to get rid of the coin and

Crowley.

"You are damn right..." Bobby trailed off.

"You'd better head out, Bobby. It's a long journey. You'll let me know when you get over there?" John asked.

"Yeah, of course," Bobby replied. "Be careful."

"You too."

 ****SPN**One Day Later****

Carter wasn't sure where they were headed, but even he could feel the thick tension in the car. Sam was sitting in the backseat with Carter and Dad was riding shotgun

while John drove. Sam's jaw clenched and unclenched, like he was chewing on something particularly tough, but Carter knew he didn't have anything in his mouth.

Carter looked toward the front passenger seat where Dad was, and could tell he was saying something, but couldn't see his mouth well enough to read the words. Dad

was upset though. Maybe it had had something to do with the game John had him play two days ago.

John had taken him and Dad to a wooden area and told them he was going into the woods and to wait fifteen minutes. Then he'd told Dad to send Carter into the

woods.

 _Like a game of hide-and-seek, okay? Come and find me, sneak up on me like you did the other morning._

Carter had done it. In fact, when he'd grabbed the hem of John's shirt, John had been so startled, he pulled out his knife. Carter could be extremely quiet. His real dad

had taught him.

They pulled off the paved road and onto a dirt one. The day was gloomy and it seemed to seep through the car. About twenty minutes later, John stopped the car. They

all got out and gathered near the trunk. John placed Carter on the trunk of the car to sit.

 _This is a terrible idea_ Dad said to John. _I shouldn't have let you talk me into this. Carter could get hurt._

 _If you have a better idea, I'm all ears,_ John said back. _We can't send you or Sam, Crowley will know something is up._

Carter looked between the men, confused. John turned to Carter and handed him the Coin of Twins.

 _Remember the hide-and-seek game we played? We're going to play another version, okay? Don't get caught. You're going to walk straight into the woods and sneak_

 _until you find the edge. There's gonna be a huge cliff. Throw the coin as hard and far as you can into the water, okay? Then come straight back. Got it?_

Carter still looked confused. This seemed like a weird game, and he didn't understand why his real dad would have told him to give the coin to John if John was just

going to give it back to him and tell him to throw it away.

 _You'll do fine._ Dad said. _Be careful, son, okay? You'll be great._

Dad had never called him 'Son' before, and it made Carter feel warm inside. Dad then pulled him into a tight hug that lasted much longer than any other hug Dad had

ever given him. Dad set him down and turned him in the right direction toward the woods. Carter walked straight forward and into the woods. Once he hit the tree line,

he watched where he was going very carefully to make sure he didn't step on anything that would make noise.

 ****SPN****

"This is such a terrible idea," Dean said again, watching Carter until he disappeared from view.

"Come on, we've got to time this right," John said, opening the trunk, gathering items and dispersing them amongst the boys.

The trio walked away from the car and into a small clearing. John placed a cloth on the ground that had a sigil drawn on it. Dean placed six candles in their respective

places and lit them. Sam put a bowl filled with various ingredients down.

Crushing the last ingredient into the bowl, John chanted, "...Et ad congregandum...eos coram me." Then he lit the ingredients with a match.

"Hello, Boys. Nice surprise. How are we today?" Crowley stood before them.

"Cut the small talk, we want you to back off the coin," Dean said.

"And why ever would I do that?" Crowley asked.

"If you don't, we'll kill you for good," John said, tossing him a cell phone.

"Hey, Crowley," Bobby's voice crackled through the phone, "never pictured you as a kilt guy."

"Ooh, points for thinking outside the box, Boys. You sent that hillbilly all the way to Scotland? 'A' for effort. So, I'm supposed to back off or you burn my bones, is that

right?"

"Yeah. Exactly," Sam said, smugly.

"See, I knew you boys would pull something like this. I also know that you don't have the coin," Crowley pointed at John. "The little boy has it doesn't he? Gonna toss it

in the lake over there?"

John, Dean and Sam were all quiet, fear began tugging at their hearts.

"Thought so. See, I've been waiting for you denim-wrapped nightmares to summon me with some stupid plan. I brought a little friend with me for the occasion,"

Crowley grinned.

As if on a cue, a loud howl could be heard in the distance.

"CARTER!" Dean lost all of his stoniness and took off toward the howl.

"He'll never make it. Oh, and before you try, burning me won't take my pup with me. It'll just piss him off."

John, Sam and Crowley stood, staring. Crowley had a smug smirk on his face.

"What's your next move?" Crowley asked.

"My soul," John said, stepping forward. "You've wanted it for years, Crowley. Your bones, my soul, you leave my family and the godforsaken coin alone and call the hound

off my grandson."

"Oh, now you're talking, John," Crowley was serious now.

"Dad, don't—" Sam started.

"Hush up now, Son. It's been a long time coming," John said, he turned back to Crowley. "We got a deal?"

"John Winchester, don't you be so—" Bobby's voice was cut off as Crowley shut the phone and tossed it to the ground.

"Fine. I get your soul and my bones, and I'll leave your sodding family and coin alone," Crowley said. "Kiss on it?"

John turned to Sam, "You tell Dean and Carter I love them. Bobby, too. I'm so proud of you boys. You carry on, you hear? I love you, Son."

"I love you, too, Dad..." Sam trailed off, unsure of what he should do.

Crowley snapped his fingers and John Winchester dropped dead. Sam gasped and glared at Crowley.

"Until next time, Moose," and with that Crowley snapped his fingers again. "What has that bloody fool done with my pup?" Crowley snarled, but then he was gone.

Sam didn't know what to do, so he took off in the direction Dean had, terrified of what he would find.

 ****SPN****

Carter was making his way through the woods and it was getting hard to keep his focus on not making any noise. He couldn't get caught, and he wanted to win the

game. He could see the break in the trees ahead. That's when he felt it, he could feel eyes on him. The hair stood up on the back of his neck and Carter looked wildly

around, but couldn't see anyone or anything.

Fear gripped Carter's heart and it stood still for a moment, then suddenly started bouncing around his chest like a rabbit does when its spooked. Carter darted forward

toward the cliff, throwing away all thoughts of being quiet. He slid to the edge of the cliff and fumbled the coin out of his pocket. Lightning began flashing around him. He

could feel something behind him, but when he glanced over his shoulder there was still nothing there.

He threw the coin, as hard and far as he could. It glinted, twirling in the air, with the next flash of lightning and then the coin was gone. Carter turned. A man was

standing two feet behind him, facing the trees. Carter started in surprise, he took a step backward and his foot slid off the cliff, causing him to lose his balance. Carter hit

the grass, but didn't take his eyes off the strange man. Carter saw that he had some sort of silver sword in his hand.

The man lunged forward, plunging the sword into nothing, but when he pulled the sword away, it was covered with dark blood. The man then turned toward him. He

had on a light tan long coat, and nice Sunday clothes, but his blue tie was loosened and his clean cut hair was slightly disheveled. He closed the gap between them, still

lay stunned on the grass.

The man knelt down and picked Carter up so he was on his knees. Carter stared at the man, wide-eyed. The lightning flashed again and Carter saw humongous black

wings unfolding from the man. They disappeared with the lightning. He raised his hand, two fingers outstretched toward Carter. Carter flinched from the fingers, but he

didn't halt. He touched his fingers to Carter's head.

"Get the hell away from him!" words boomed through Carter's head.

His eyes widened at the man. He didn't understand what that was, he couldn't name it. He was frozen, terror and fear ripping through his body. Another feeling bubbled

up, a mixture of happiness and relief; understanding.

Dad came into view. He grabbed the man and tossed him backward away from Carter. Carter's body became unfrozen and stumbled between the two grown men, facing

his father. He shook his head wildly, arm outstretched. He opened his mouth,

"N—N—No!"

Dad stopped, his face was shocked, unbelieving.

"What the hell happened?" That same voice. Deep, growling, and menacing.

Carter turned to the angel behind him, who stood up and vanished. Carter heard crunching thuds and whirled around wildly at the sudden sound. Sam cam running out

from the trees.

"Carter," Dad said, and Carter's head cocked to the side at the unfamiliar word. "Jesus, how can you hear, now?"

His voice was still deep, but the menace had left, replaced with a softer baritone.

"What's going on?" Sam had spoken. The voice was lighter and smooth.

Carter couldn't help himself, there were tears in his eyes and all he wanted was to hear the vibrations of Dad and listen to the voice that went along with it. He ran to

Dad, as fast as his legs would carry him.

 ****SPN****

Dean raced through the trees as fast as he could, fear tearing through his body, the sound of the hellhound howling filling his head along with the erratic beating of his

heart. His lungs burned, and he was praying—really praying—that Carter would be alright. That somehow he could run faster than a hellhound and save his little boy. He

crashed through the tree line. He saw a man kneeling by Carter, hand outstretched.

"Get the hell away from him!" Dean snarled. He ran over to the man and threw him backwards.

Carter stumbled over between the two men, facing toward Dean.

"N—N—No!"

Dean was shocked. He didn't think Carter was able to talk.

"What the hell happened?"

Carter turned to the man in the trench coat, who stood up, and disappeared. Dean was unnerved. He heard footsteps and saw Carter whirl around... Almost like he had

heard them. Sam came running out of the tree line and stopped.

"Carter," Dean tried. Carter cocked his head to the side. He _had_ heard. "Jesus, how can you hear now?"

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Carter broke into a run, straight for Dean.

Dean caught Carter and swept him into his arms, relief flooding through him.

"I love you, Buddy, I'm never letting you outta my sight again," Dean said, holding Carter tightly to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Epilogue**

Carter Winchester stood at the edge of the empty field that was hidden from the road, leaning against the shiny black 1967 Chevy Impala. The same field he'd

celebrated in all those years ago. The sun was just setting, and in the last of the daylight, he saw himself at five years old playing "Keep Away from John" with a soccer

ball. As the sun disappeared, Carter still stood, staring into the field. He reached into his leather jacket, the one that had belonged to John, and pulled out the journal

that had also belonged to the late John Winchester. He flipped through it. As he did so, a piece of paper fell from the back. Carter leaned down and picked it up, unfolding

it. It turned out to be two pieces of paper.

It was two pictures from a coloring book. A dinosaur standing on a big patch of pink grass and a hand drawn picture of the black Impala, Dad and Sam holding a small

Carter's hand. A smile tugged at the edge of Carter's mouth, he was just as tall as Sam now. Dad had kept these two pictures all these years.

He grabbed a beer from the six pack on the ground, and a roman candle from the cardboard box of fireworks next to the beer. Carter cracked open the beer with the

silver ring on his finger and drank half of it. Lighting the roman candle, he held it above his head and watched the multi-colored balls, and heard the whistling.

He dropped it to the ground when it was spent and drank the rest of the beer. It was a clear night and Carter gazed at the stars and listened to the wind, he would never

take for granted the ability to hear things. A twig snapping, those classic rock tapes Dad had insisted they play wherever they went, the deep baritone of his voice.

Grabbing another beer, he lost himself in those memories. The two brothers taking in a deaf kid, protecting him from demons. He remembered the time he'd asked Dad

if he was an angel, remembered how he and Sam both laughed at him. Carter knew that angels existed. Not in the way his real dad had said, but they did exist and

there were three kinds. There were the real ones, the good ones, like that trench-coated man who had saved him from a hellhound and given him the gift of sound.

There were the fake ones, the ones who had killed so many "for the greater good." Then, finally, there were the angels that didn't know they were angels, like Dad and

Sam. Saving people, hunting things, the family business. Taking in a wayward orphan, and protecting him from all the evil in the world.

Having been so lost, he failed to register the sound of another car, pulling behind the sleek black Chevrolet.

"Hey, now! Don't drink all of the beer. Party just started!" Carter turned and was enveloped into a hug by Dad.

"There's more in the trunk!" He laughed back, and gave Sam a sidelong hug.

"How'd it go with that vampire's nest?" Carter asked.

"You could say they lost their heads a bit," Dad grinned, cracking open a beer for himself, with a ring that nearly matched the one Carter had on.

"How'd it go for you? The haunted house in So-Cal?" Sam asked.

"Rubbish. Cursed mirror is all," Carter replied. "Thanks for letting me take the Impala, Dad."

"Sure. Just don't expect it too often," Dad said, taking another beer for Sam and switching car keys with Carter. Carter also handed him the journal, having tucked those

two pieces of paper back in their place.

Dad opened a bottle of beer for Carter.

"To John?" Carter said, raising his bottle.

"To Dad," Sam and Dad said together.

They tapped their bottles together and drank them in silence.

"Let's get this celebration going," Carter said, grabbing the box of fireworks, and heading away from the two cars.

They sat together and watched the fireworks explode in showers of multi-colored lights, as they had so many years ago and once every year since then. After the last

one died away, the trio began to clean up their mess. They stood near their cars, none leaving, but none admitting they didn't particularly want to leave yet. "Until

Christmas, right?"

Sam and Dad nodded.

"Where are you headed next?" Sam asked, because he knew Dad wouldn't.

"Tennessee. I think there's a witch hunt," Carter replied. "You?"

"Maine," Dad replied.

"Well, see you soon, then," Carter said, stepping forward to give one last hug to each of the men. "Be careful."

"Yep," Dad said. "Always are, Son."

"Of course," Sam said. "You do the same, kiddo."

Dean and Sam got into the black Impala and roared away.

Carter reached into his pocket, and pulled out the coin of twins. A grim reminder of everything they had lost, and everything they had gained in return. He turned it in

his hand a few times, gazing at the small token. Then, with finality, Carter placed the coin back in his pocket, and got into the 1967 Ford Mustang that had orange

stripes. The car wasn't as homely as the Impala, and it never would be, but the open highways welcomed him back with open arms.

 **Thanks for reading this story. Please let me know how you liked it! It was a lot of fun to write and I'm really proud of it as my first fanfic. Thank you again for reading. Much love, all.**


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